When self-medication goes wrong: the case of argyria at the Padua Morgagni Museum of Pathology.

Autor: Magno G; University Museums Centre CAM, University of Padua, Via A. Gabelli, 61, 35121, Padua, Italy., Zampieri F; Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy., Thiene G; Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy., Basso C; Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.; Cardiovascular Pathology Unit - Azienda Ospedaliera di Padova, Padua, Italy., Zorzi F; Analysis Center and Certification Services (CEASC), University of Padua, Padua, Italy., Della Barbera M; Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.; Cardiovascular Pathology Unit - Azienda Ospedaliera di Padova, Padua, Italy., Zanatta A; University Museums Centre CAM, University of Padua, Via A. Gabelli, 61, 35121, Padua, Italy. alberto.zanatta.1@unipd.it.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Virchows Archiv : an international journal of pathology [Virchows Arch] 2022 Jun; Vol. 480 (6), pp. 1283-1288. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Jul 09.
DOI: 10.1007/s00428-021-03139-w
Abstrakt: A unique specimen of argyria is preserved in the Morgagni Museum of Pathological Anatomy at the University of Padua (Italy). It is a stuffed head belonging to a man who decided to cure his syphilis by himself with the so-called infernal stone (silver nitrate) every day for years, thus developing argyria in the second half of the nineteenth century. Paleopathological and historical studies were performed on the specimen to confirm the diagnosis of argyria. Furthermore, a morphological investigation of the specimen was conducted with histological and ultrastructural investigations, including environmental scanning electron microscopy and electron dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, recording high presence of silver in the dermis and epidermis and also other chemical elements correlated to the "infernal stone." A comparison with actual cases may also lead to a common feature: a potential dependence on the perceived benefits brought by silver compound that may sustain a further prolonged intake.
(© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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